Indelible Memories
by Alphonseelric22
Summary: A side piece from my FMA fanfic. We get to delve into Treena's past and everything that lead up to her and Mia attempting human transmutation. R&R WARNING: Strong language and gore


Treena stared out of the window, making little drawings in the frost that had accumulated there. "Do you think he's ever coming back?" She turned to face her older brother with a somber expression, her question written all over her face.

"I highly doubt that. He wanted to escape from this town and he did just that so stop hoping," Isaac replied, turning away from her to check on an experiment he'd been working to perfect.

"But Mia needs her father! I don't want her to hate me forever!" Treena let the sobs she'd been holding in escape her lips as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Isaac looked to her sympathetically. "Look, she's just angry at the world right now. You know how it feels to lose your father. She just deals differently than most. Don't think on it too much." He gave her a small smile as he wiped the tears from her cheeks with the fleshy pads of his thumbs.

She smiled brightly before hugging her older brother tightly. "Thanks brother. I'm gonna go help mom with the dinner!" The child ran into the other room, her expression bright and hopeful, an infectious happiness. Isaac shook his head and returned to his experiment, a smile plastered on his face.

When Treena entered the kitchen a scream ripped from her throat at the sight of her mother crumpled and broken in a helpless heap on the floor, the stew she'd just made burning into her flesh. "ISAAC! HURRY! MOM'S HURT!"

Isaac rushed into the room, his eyes widening. In a situation like this he was sure of what to do. He'd studied enough books to know how to help her but as for saving her life he wasn't clear. He gathered up his mother in his arms, taking her to the couch and first checking her pulse. He released a relieved breath as he went straight for the phone. He was proud of his younger sister as she dampened a cloth with warm water and placed it on their mother's head. Soon, someone on the other end answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Dr. Albright? It's Isaac Williams. My mother just collapsed in the kitchen."

"I'll be over shortly. Any more information I may need?"

"When she fell she was holding a pot of stew. It spilled onto her when she fell so she's been burned."

"Thank you. I'll be there as soon as possible." Isaac thanked the woman and hung up the phone looking over to Treena, the worry in her eyes boring into his skull.

"Is mom going to be alright?"

Isaac walked over to the girl, his expression comforting. "I'm sure she'll be just fine," he reassured her, slipping a comforting arm around her shoulders. She pressed further into his embrace, a few more tears slipping from her reddened eyes.

This scene looked all too familiar to her and that gave her no comfort whatsoever. They went through this same situation when their father had passed on. They'd found him in the basement, some boxes pinning him to the floor. They called the doctor and she rushed over, her expression grave when she ran some tests. She explained to the two that their father was very sick and there was no hope of him ever getting better. They watched as their father slipped past their grasp and into the clutches of death. It tore Treena apart to see the casket lower into the ground, her heart aching from the loss. Now here she sat staring at her mother, watching as sweat beaded her brow and her cheeks pinkened from fever. She knew this scene all too well and she knew that her mother was fated to die just as their father had.

Treena stood from her brother's embrace and walked to her room, slipping on her coat and shoes. When she re-entered the kitchen she searched around until she found a flashlight. Her brother gave her a puzzled look as she looked out the window and decided a rain poncho would be more fitting. "I'm going to the graveyard," she said, answering her brother's unspoken question.

The flashlight flickered to life as her small fingers pressed the switch down. Her eyes were dull as she walked in the rain to the place where they'd buried her father, her eyes red from the tears she shed earlier and her head throbbing from the pain of the reality that surrounded her. Soon enough she stood at her father's grave, her hands shaking as she read the head stone.

'Here lies Tancred Williams. Devoted father and husband. Always and forever will we remember your bright spirit. May your journey into the afterlife be one of bliss.'

Treena kneeled down in the mud, the water soaking into her pyjama bottoms. She folded her hands together and her eyes slipped shut. "Daddy, something is happening to mom. I think it's what happened to you. I'm scared. I don't want mom to go too. Please ask the nice man in heaven to help her live. I promise I'll be really good and only help around the house and be nice to Isaac and say hello to Mia everyday and..." Her eyes welled up with tears as her body began to shake. "I love you daddy."

Treena gathered up her things and headed for home, her pants soaked from the mud. When she walked into the house she saw Dr. Albright checking over her mother, running the same tests she'd ran on their father. Treena's eyes watered as the doctor shook her head in disappointment and told her brother the news. She didn't have to hear the woman to know what had happened. Her mother was dying and she couldn't do anything about it.

Isaac gave the younger girl a sympathetic look as she passed them and disappeared into her room. She threw her shoes and poncho off to a corner of the room before laying down on her bed, not even bothering to change her pants. Her pillow seemed to become her attachment to this life as she clung to it and soaked it with tears. She had been right and oh how she hated it this time. She was usually proud of being right but that was usually in her alchemy studies. This time, though, she'd been right about something she hoped she would be wrong about. Her heart clenched as her father's funeral played over in her mind, the casket lowering into the ground, her father never to be seen again.

Isaac stared at the pitiful form in the bed that had once been his sister. It always cut him deeply to see his sister this way due to the fact that she'd always been a bright and cheerful being. He'd only seen her like this on a couple of occasions and one of them had been their father's death. During that time she talked to no one for a week, crying at random intervals and leaving classes for seemingly no reason but to go see her father. During the first month he was gone she'd sometimes expected him home only to realize the harsh reality and break down in tears, sobs wracking her body.

Isaac crossed the room and wrapped his sister up in his arms, cradling her against his chest. Treena's hands fisted in his shirt, her tears soaking a portion of the garment. Soon enough she stilled, the tears stopping and her breathing evening out. Isaac laid her down in her bed carefully, covering her with the blankets. He really wasn't sure if he could go through seeing his sister like that again. Once had been enough and that'd given him cuts deep enough to last a lifetime. With a sigh he flicked the light switch, darkening the room to let his sister sleep.

Isaac frowned as he saw his mother remained on the couch. The doctor was a good woman but the least she could do was move his mother to a proper place to sleep. He picked her up again for the second time that night and took her to her bed, making sure she was properly covered and comfortable. He left her room and rubbed at his eyes. He knew he should go to sleep just as his family had, rest his weary mind and find a way to make this whole situation work out in the morning but he couldn't tear himself away from the experiment he'd been in the middle of. He returned to his lab, checking to see that nothing had been disrupted and heaved a sigh of relief. Another thing he had to thank his sister for was her respect for his things and his privacy.

He walked around, checking books, theories, and many other things. As soon as he was sure everything was set up perfectly he took his pack of chalk from the pocket on his hip and drew an intricate circle on the floor. He examined the circle, looking between it and the book to make sure he'd done everything right and put all of the markings in the correct spots. Next, he walked over to a cuboard reminiscent of a pantry and looked through, grabbing everything he needed for this experiment to work properly and placing it near the circle. He opened the various jars and containers, pouring things on the floor and checking to make sure he had the proper measurement then finally placed his hands to the circle. He squinted his eyes as a bright light shone past his glasses, glaring off of them.

After the light had dissipated he looked to see if it had worked as intended and his smile nearly glowed

as brightly as the light before it. In front of him stood a small black creature roughly the size of a small toddler. It had a rather round belly with a bright orange mark that was most likely a transmutation circle on his head. The thing stared at its creator for a moment, comprehending it's existence. Then as soon as it had come to be it crumbled and turned to mud on the circle. Isaac sighed. Well, at least he'd made one. The next step was to keep it alive longer and find a way to control it.

A few of his joints popped as he stood and stretched, a loud yawn leaving his mouth. He left his lab, putting out the lights and making his way to his bedroom.

Isaac awoke to crying, the question of who it was answered quickly. He stood and stretched, not too happy with his wake up call. As he walked to the door and slipped on his robe he realized that it wasn't just crying. Sobs wracked his sister's body as he watched with widened eyes, the younger girl clinging to the corpse of their mother. She didn't know he was there or else the screams of pain and longing coming from her throat wouldn't have torn forth and caused him to run across the house and shield her in a powerful but gentle hug.

"NO! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO HELP MOM! I HAVE TO!!!" Treena's screams became more frantic, her hands scratching at her brother's arms to reach her mother, desperate to save her from the inevitable. Isaac only held her tighter, knowing that clinging to a corpse would only make it worse.

"No! There's nothing you can do for her now! She's gone..." he said as he stared down at her. Her head hung low as she took in raspy breaths of air before looking up at one of her only remaining pieces of a shattered family. She choked as more tears poured down her cheeks and she promptly buried her face in his shirt, screaming and sobbing as their mother's lifeless form lay draped on the couch.

The funeral went just as she remembered her father's. Her brother didn't show up once again and stayed in his lab studying for his latest works as she stood with a few people and watched as they lowered her mother into her dirt cage next to her father. She felt the sadness overtake her again and a small strangled sob escaped against her will and tears spilled from her reddened eyes. She didn't scream as they threw the dirt on the casket, didn't sob uncontrollably when her aunt gave the eulogy, her tears even stopped as she walked through the door to her home.

"Treena?" Isaac asked as heard the front door creak open and let in a chilly blast of air.

Treena didn't respond, only slipped off her shoes and coat, hanging her coat on the coat rack. "Isaac, are you hungry?" she asked in a voice much older than for her age.

"Can you even cook?" he asked, obviously not only worried about her culinary skills but the way she was acting.

"Of course. Now, are you hungry?" she asked again in a bit of an annoyed tone.

"Yeah yeah!" He didn't like this behavior nor did he understand it. She'd cried for weeks when their father died and now their mother had been dead for nearly twenty-four hours and she was perfectly fine, or at least seemingly. He stared into the kitchen as she gathered the ingredients for their dinner, rushing around the kitchen just as their mother had only two nights before. He desperately wanted to know what was going through his sister's mind at that time but decided it best not to ask.

[Sometime later]

"Do you think she'll come back home?"

Isaac shook his head as once again Treena stared at the town through her window. This small town had become even smaller with the death of Mia's mother. Many of the townspeople had believed a disease to be infecting the town, which could quite possibly be true, so they left. Really the only two who hadn't left were Treena and her brother. Too many memories remained in this place for the two to pack up and just move somewhere new, even if Mia felt it the right time for her to go.

Treena turned to look at Isaac when she didn't receive an answer for her question. "Well, do you think Mia will come home?"

Isaac turned away from her. "I doubt it." He knew at this point what Treena's expression would look like at his words and he would rather not see it. "I'm going for a walk."

"Don't be gone too long. It's nearly time for me to start dinner." Isaac nodded to her with a small smile on his lips earning him one in return. He slipped on his boots before walking outside.

The sky had begun to show the colors of twilight as the day slowly faded to night and the air cooled off in just the slightest. Isaac went at a leisurely pace through the town, the silence an unusual thing for him; normally this town would've been bustling with life, children running through the streets. No longer was his home that way and it saddened him.

As Isaac gazed around the now empty town curiosity began to grip him. He wondered what could've been left behind in these old houses, what the townspeople had abandoned in their rush to leave their old lives behind. The one that tempted him most was the old mansion. They'd always been told as kids to avoid the place and that great dangers were within its walls waiting for anyone foolish enough to enter the building.

Isaac let curiosity take hold and approached the tall, crumbling building, standing before it in awe of the size of the place. Standing in front of it he now noticed how large it really was whereas at a distance it seemed much smaller. His heart raced at the thought of what could lie within that house just waiting for someone to pluck it away and hold it as their own.

Gaining the courage he needed, Isaac opened the door, coughing as many years worth of dust flew into his lungs. The inside was exquisite, paintings of the alchemists of old hanging on the walls in the foyer, gold lining the rails of the staircases, and a gorgeous, though very dirty, chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling.

Isaac felt around inside his pockets, searching for the small box of matches he kept in his pocket in case of emergencies. Once he'd found it he struck one against the side of the box and lit a lamp. Once one was lit, he used the heat from it along with his alchemy to use some of the air to light the rest. Now that it was lit, the building glowed and he could imagine how it would've looked full of people, talking about tomorrow and dancing to soft music.

Isaac made his way around some rubble and up to the stairs, placing one foot cautiously on the first to test it's stability. Once he determined it would hold under his weight he began going up the stairs, staring at even more paintings as he got higher up in the building. Once he reached the top of the stairs he stood for a moment, determining which path he wanted to take. After some contemplation he decided to go left; he could go on the other side of the mansion later.

More paintings adorned the walls here in this hall than in the foyer and some had disturbing content. One pictured a woman atop an altar, clothed only in a white robe that was stained with blood. A man stood over her corpse, a beating heart in one hand and the dagger he'd used to remove it in the other. Another showed a large man feeding on the brains in another man's skull, drool dripping through it jagged teeth.

Isaac shuddered at the site of them, nausea making his stomach churn, nearly to the point of vomiting. As he walked further through the hall he noticed a door cracked open in just the slightest and curiosity gripped him even more fiercely before as he opened it fully. Inside was an enormous library that nearly rivaled that of the one he'd seen in Central. Every shelf was filled with books, the floor littered with them and his eyes gleamed. He had no doubts in his mind that they all had something to do with alchemy and that made him smile brightly before running to one shelf and pulling a book from it. The gold lettering on the spine glittered in the light of the lamps he'd lit earlier and he marveled at the site of it. _'Human Alchemy and The stone of ages.'_

He cracked open the book, the binding worn from over-reading and began reading the first passage within it:

_Let him wish his life_

_For the sorrows of a stone_

_Never knowing the first thread_

_Of these_

_Never knowing the pain of ice_

_As its crystals slowly grow_

_Needles pressing in on the heart_

_To live forever_

_And never feel a thing_

_To wait a million lifetimes_

_Only to erode and become sand_

_Wish not for the stone_

_But for the fire_

_Last only moments_

_But change everything_

He read the passage over and over again, mulling over in his mind what it could've meant. Finally he gave up on this and turned the page, another passage inside.

_Many have searched _

_Few have found_

_The great elixir_

_That knows no bounds_

_Creating life_

_outsmarting death_

_eternal life_

_this power you'll own_

_When you hold_

_The Philosopher's stone_

Isaac's eyes widened and he had to reread the passage a few times to make sure he hadn't read wrong. When he confirmed that his sight hadn't failed him he quickly turned the page and began reading, things all about human transmutation and making a philosopher's stone within its pages. He soon lost himself in the books, quickly finishing one after the other.

[Later that night]

"Isaac! Isaac!" Treena called at the top of her lungs before placing her hands on her hips in frustration. Isaac had been gone nearly two hours and his dinner was already freezing cold. Treena didn't like the fact that her brother felt the need to stay out late and not even come home for dinner. Treena groaned in annoyance as she walked down the street once more. "Isaac Williams! Where on earth are you?!" Treena called again, her aggravation growing. "Honestly, what is that boy thinking," she muttered looking around before she spotted him exiting the old mansion, many books in hand.

Treena groaned again as she approached him. "Isaac Williams! Is this where you've been for the past two hours?! You missed dinner and-"

"That doesn't matter right now! You have to see these books I found in the mansion! There's tons of 'em and they have so much information that could help us and-"

Isaac was cut short as Treena smacked him over the head, causing his head to spin. "You stayed out reading?! You are SO lucky I'm not your mother or you'd be grounded on the spot!"

He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Look I'm sorry okay. Just help me get these ones home please?" he asked in his best pleading voice.

"Fine," she grumbled after a bit, heaving some of the books into her arms.

"You're the best sister ever." He heaved the other half of the books he'd gathered into his hands and began walking with his sister back to their home. "Treena, have you ever heard of the Philosopher's stone?"

"The Philosopher's stone? I think so. It's supposed to be some sort of alchemic catalyst that boost transmutations to the point that it can bypass the law of equivalence. Why do you ask?"

"These books, they're all about it. They talk about legends of it and what it can do. The only thing I haven't found is how it's made. None of the books I found had the formulas for it but only legends and tales."

Treena thought about these things for a while as she shifted the books in her arms. "What are you thinking Isaac?"

Isaac thought over his answer carefully, not wanting to either anger her nor hurt her. "Do you... miss mom and dad?"

"Of course! What kind of a question is that?!"

"Do you want to see them again?'

Treena's expression turned dark. "You know I can't. Why are you saying these things?"

"I can bring them back you know," he muttered under his breath.

"That's impossible. You know dad said that was forbidden," Treena said, some bite to her words.

"But we could do it with the stone. With the stone we could do anything, we could ever bring back Mia's mom or make the house bigger and better. With that... we could be equal to gods."

"I don't like this kind of talk Isaac. We're humans, not gods. Even with some trinket we could never have that kind of power."

Isaac said nothing else as they entered the house and dumped the books in his room. Isaac locked the door behind himself after Treena had left and immediately began pouring through all of the books once again. There had to be something he overlooked, something that talked about creating the stone. He read through one book again and sighed when he found nothing. He threw the book gently to the ground and pinched the bridge of his nose of his nose. This really was frustrating.

When he removed his hand from his face he discovered something on the inside of the back cover of the book. A sizable lump lay underneath the the paper, a lump too large to just be again of the cover. Isaac dug in his pocket until her found a small knife he'd always kept on him just as he had the matches. He carefully cut at the cover, not wanting to damage the entire book and his eyes widened when he found some folded papers that seemed to be left there using alchemy to seal it in the cover carefully. The papers were preserved well for their age but still Isaac was careful as he unfolded them. His eyes widened when they landed on the formulas and circles in front of him, all of the math and guesswork taken out of the process of making what he sought.

He jumped up from where he was sitting, excitement flooding through him quickly. He burst from his room and ran to Treena who was finishing off the last of the dishes. "Treena! I found it! I found the formulas and everything! It was all right there in the cover!"

Treena stared at him perplexedly. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"The stone! Someone put the entire thing in the lining of the cover! I can bring them back as soon as I make one! We'll have our family back!"

Treena's eyes darkened. "I hope so Isaac. I really hope that's the way this turns out."

[A few days later]

Treena hummed contentedly as she put more berries into her basket. She knew it was something really girly to do but she loved baking pies and these berries always made for the best pies. She didn't come up to the hills as often as she used to, other things occupying her time. Being the woman of the house was a task that took most of her time up and made it nearly impossible to do much else but this time she was able to escape for a bit.

She looked towards the town as a loud thudding rang through the air. Treena rolled her eyes, figuring that Isaac was at work with his alchemy again. The boy was addicted. She placed a few more berries into the basket on her arm before heading back towards her home. She looked to her left to see three people in black leaving the town on the opposite end and instantly became confused. No one else should've been here besides herself and Isaac.

Pushing it away she continued the trek home, carefully stepping over large rocks. She smiled as she reached the house and opened the front door. "Isaac! I'm back! I'm going to makea pie! I got TONS of berries this time so it should be even better than the last!" Treena called out as she set the basket down on the counter. "Isaac?" Treena called again, perplexed when her brother didn't answer. She went to the back of the house where her brother's room was and stopped dead in her tracks when she entered the room.

There in the middle of the floor her brother's corpse laid, blood staining everything. Treena's eyes widened in horror as a terrified scream ripped from the back of her throat as she ran to her brother, grabbing him to look for some tiny signs of life that may have remained. There was nothing. Most of his blood lay on the floor and his heart wasn't beating, his body unmoving and unresponsive.

The tears poured down her cheeks all at once as she held his body to hers, sobs wracking her body. "NO! NOT AGAIN!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Everything had been taken from her, her aunt and uncle, Mia, her parents, and now her brother. Everyone she ever cared about was disappearing in front of her eyes and she was powerless to stop it.

The knowledge that she was the last one left, not just in her family but her town, set in and cut her deeply. She looked down at Isaac's bloodstained cheek as her tears poured down onto it, washing some of the blood from his skin. More tears formed in her eyes as the seconds passed and he continued to remain lifeless. Treena let another scream rip forth from her chest as she shook uncontrollably, her heart and mind both shattered.

She froze when she heard the front door open and a familiar voice floated into the room. "Treena? Isaac? Are you two in here? It's Mia! I'm back!" she shouted joyfully.

Treena couldn't utter a single word in reply, words unable to form even in her thoughts as blood caused her clothing to stick to her skin. All she could manage was a small whimper or two but that was all she really needed to grab her cousin's attention.

She watched as Mia froze in the doorway to Isaac's room, Treena clutching his dead body as if it would ever bring him back. "Treena... what happened? Why is Isaac... dead?!" Mia asked, her eyes widened in horror just as Treena's were.

"I... I don't know. I came home and he was... bleeding... so much blood..." Her mind was all over the place, sanity the furthest thing from what she was experiencing.

Mia stared for a moment before cautiously approaching Treena and lifting her from the ground, Isaac's corpse sliding to the floor. "You need to get out of here. You aren't thinking straight."

"NO! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO STAY! I CAN'T LEAVE HIM LIKE THIS MIA!!!" Treena shouted, struggling with all her strength to get away.

Mia's grip remained as she pulled her from the room and shut the door behind them. She sat Treena down in one of the kitchen chairs before sitting in one herself. "Calm down Treena. You need to calm down."

Treena looked angered by these words and glared daggers at her cousin. "What? You want me to be calm when somebody just murdered my brother?! Fuck being calm! HE'S FUCKING DEAD MIA! DEAD!!! MY ONLY FAMILY!!!" she bellowed, angry tears spilling down her cheeks.

"WHAT ABOUT ME?!" Mia shouted back just as angrily. "I'M FAMILY AND I'M STILL HERE! DO I SOMEHOW NOT COUNT ANYMORE?!" she asked, feeling deeply hurt as tears now poured down her cheeks.

Treena's expression softened considerably as she stood to hug Mia. "Of course you count as family to me Mia. I'm sorry." Treena hugged her tighter as many thoughts ran through her mind. She couldn't fathom who could do such a thing to her brother seeing as he'd never wronged anyone. It didn't make any sense.

Ceasing her thoughts for the moment, Treena released Mia. She walked to the stove where a towel hung on the oven handle. "C'mere," Treena muttered as she lifted Mia's head to dry her eyes.

"Things will be okay Treena. I know they will. We just have to... first we need to bury him."

"I know Mia. Go get a shovel and I'll wrap him in some blankets. Let's just get this done as quickly as we possibly can." Mia nodded as she left the house to go do what needed to be done.

[That night]

Treena stood staring at the headstone they'd made for her brother, a heart carved into it by Mia. _'Here lies Isaac Williams. Alchemic genius, great son, great brother.'_ Treena thought over the last few days and everything that had happened, leading up to this night and she remembered something. She remembered Isaac telling her about bringing back their parents and the sparked a thought in her brain. Maybe he'd attempted to do it without a stone and this was the end result. She threw that out, the theory not explaining the people in black who'd exited the town shortly after her brother's murder.

This did, however, spawn a new train of thought and she looked to her cousin, unsure of whether she should ask or not. "Mia?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you help me?"

"Help you with what?" Mia asked, confusion plain on her face.

"Will you help me bring him back?"

Mia's eyes widened as she stared at Treena. "But... you know it's forbidden Treena! Besides, we wouldn't even know how to do it!"

"Yes we would. The books in the old mansion could tell us how."

"The old mansion is dangerous! Why do you think we've stayed out of it for so long?!"

"I don't care. I'm tired of all of this pain. I want my brother back Mia and if that works we may even be able to bring our parents back. Just think of how much better things will be when our families are whole again."

Mia lowered her head in defeat. "I'll do it."

[Two days later]

"Do you really think this will work Treena?'

"I'm sure of it. Soon we'll be able to see everyone again!"

[One week]

"So if you write it like this?"

"Then that should complete the formula," Treena confirmed with a nod. "We've nearly got it Mia."

[Two weeks]

"When?"

"Soon Mia. Very soon."

[Three weeks]

Treena inspected the circle she'd drawn, making sure she hadn't made any mistakes in the formula they'd been working to perfect for weeks. "The circle's ready."

Mia nodded as she placed the ingredients for the transmutation in the middle of the circle then returned to Treena's side. "Treena, are you ready?"

Treena nodded before the two placed their hands to the circle. It began glowing a bright yellow and Treena's smile brightened at the thought of having a family again, happy, healthy, and laughing. Her smile soon faded as the air turned heavy and she looked to her cousin. "Mia, what's going on?"

Mia's scream cut through the room like a knife going through hot butter as suddenly their home was gone and they faced a huge stone gate. "What is this?!" she shouted as it opened. One large eye along with many smaller ones stared at them just before what looked like stretchy black arms shot out at them, pulling them in. "Let me go!!!"

"Mia!!!! YOUR LEGS!!!" Treena's horror was renewed as she watched her cousin legs being broken down by a powerful alchemic force. "Mia-" she was cut short by a pain ripping through both her skull and left arm all at one. She couldn't look to see what had happened to her arm, couldn't hear the horrified scream that burst from Mia's chest before she thudded to the ground.

As she looked around she realized she was back in her house, something sticking to her cheek and hair. Unsure of what it was, she tried to push herself up with her arms but instantly fell back down. To her horror she looked and saw her left arm missing from her body. She screamed as she scanned the room for her cousin and found her broken form lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. "MIA!"

Treena brokenly crawled to her cousin, tears already soaking her cheeks and running in rivers from her eyes. There was too much blood lying on the floor and she couldn't tell where hers ended and Mia's began. "MIA! NO! WAKE UP! YOU CAN'T DIE TOO! YOU CAN'T! WAKE UP!" she screamed clung to her cousin's shirt with her remaining hand.

Treena cried for what seemed like a lifetime before, all at once, the tears stopped, her mind made up. She knew what she needed to do and she needed to do it fast if she was going to at least save Mia's life. Treena got onto her feet and heaved Mia up against her so she could take her from the room. She didn't dare look behind her at what they'd made, afraid of what she'd see.

When she'd finally made it to the kitchen she laid her cousin down on the floor and quickly searched for some old sheets. Once found, the sheets had been ripped into suitable bandages and Treena attended to Mia first, bandaging all three stumps where her left arm and legs should've still been. She fixed herself up last, messily piling bandages on her wound, not all that worried about herself.

Her next move was to find something to carry Mia in. There was no way she'd be able to carry her in the shape she was currently in and she needed to get to the next town quickly. She walked outside and was happy to find an old broken down wooden cart. She quickly drew a circle in the dirt and fixed it up. This was going to be a difficult trip but she was sure she could manage for Mia's sake.

[Hours later]

Treena sighed in relief as she had finally reached a town with signs of life within. If memory served her this place was called Resembool. There was no time to waste finding someone who could help her cousin so Treena pulled the cart along once again. She squinted her eyes when she saw a sign in front of one the houses. 'Rockbell Automail' Perfect. Treena steered the cart in front of the house as her vision swam. She needed to be quick before she passed out so she hoisted Mia onto her shoulder and carried her up the steps, quickly knocking on the door.

"Just a moment," she heard a voice call from the other side. A small old woman half Treena's size answered the door and her eyes widened before she stepped to the side, Treena collapsing on her floor next to her.

[That night]

Treena's eyes fluttered open slowly, taking in her surroundings soon after they'd opened fully. She wasn't entirely sure where she was or how she'd gotten there. Her memory came back in a flash and she sat up quickly, causing her head to spin. "You shouldn't sit up!" A voice called to her and she saw a blond girl motioning for her to lie back down.

She did as she was asked. "Where is my cousin?! Is she alive?!" Treena asked frantically.

"The girl you brought in with you? She's alive... but barely. Both her legs and her left arm are gone from her body..."

"I know. It's my fault," Treena said dejectedly as she stared at the ceiling.

"Why is it happening again? I thought this was something that rarely happened and yet a year later I see it again..."

Treena sat up again to stare at the blond in front of her. "What?" she asked in astonishment.

"Two boys... brothers I've known most of my life, they came in here a year ago, one's soul in a suit of armor, the other with his right arm and left leg missing."

Treena stared at her, her mind racing. Someone else tried to do the same as them? No...

The blond stared at Treena, her eyes hard and serious. "Who was it?"

"What?" Treena asked not fully understanding the question.

"Who were you bringing back?"

Treena stiffened as her breath caught in the back of her throat. "I... we... my brother he..." Treena muttered as tears fell from her eyes again, though she thought by now she would've run out of tears to shed.

The blond girl stared at her sympathetically. "Look, you can stay here as long as you need to and we'll treat your wounds."

Treena looked to her, hurt in her eyes, but something else stood out behind that. "This is an automail shop... right?"

"Yes."

"Then give me and Mia automail."

"What?" she asked astonished.

"I don't have much money but I can work off the rest so please at least give her automail. I don't want Mia to have to live without legs the rest of her life so please," Treena pleaded.

The girl sighed defeated. "First you need to heal from your current wounds. I'll go let grandma know now."

"Thanks um..."

"It's Winry," she said, offering a her a soft smile.

"Thanks Winry."

[One week later]

"You two have healed enough for us to begin the automail surgery," Pinako explained to the two girls. "I'm telling you now that this is no walk in the park. The recovery takes around three years and the pain is immeasurable."

"I'm sure we can take it," Treena said, determination in her eyes.

"Then it's settled. Who will be first?"

"Mia. She needs this more than I do."

[During the surgery]

Treena screwed her eyes shut, wishing she couldn't hear the pained screams tearing through the house she was sitting in. Her cousin screamed again at the top of her lungs, cutting through her. She hated this, the sound of her family in pain. She couldn't stand it and as each scream came forth it tattooed itself to her brain, echoing in her mind to remind her of who's fault it was that she was in pain.

[Months later]

Treena walked around the house and sighed. "It's been nearly a year now and she still can't move."

"We told you it would take a while. The only reason you can even use your arm at all is because of only having the one limb done. We had to graft three limbs to her body. She won't be walking or really all that active for a long time. I'm sorry Treena," Winry muttered.

"Don't be. It's my fault. I should be apologizing. It's just too bad that no amount of apologies can take back what I've done."

[Two months later]

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Treena asked through her tears.

"I don't know Treena. How could she just get up and walk away when she's in so much pain? She could kill herself."

"I don't know but I do know that I have to find her. I'm sorry but I'll have to pay back the rest of the money some other time. Goodbye Winry." With those final words, Treena walked from the house she'd been in for nearly a year.

[Present day]

"YOU'RE SHORTER THAN A TURKEY!!!" Mia shouted to the blond, her left eyebrow twitching.

"YOU'RE SHORTER THAN A PENGUIN!"

"WHAT?!"

Treena shook her head as Ed and Mia argued once again. "You have to admit, they do come up with some creative insults sometimes," Al pointed out with a chuckle.

Treena giggled as she realized he was correct. "They do. We still need to get going though. They're wasting too much time with this argument."

"I'LL GIVE YOU BOOBS EDWARD ELRIC!!!"

"AND I'LL TAKE YOURS OFF MIA THOMAS!!!"


End file.
